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Can a DNA database save the trees? These scientists hope so

Forests are disappearing. Maps show shrinking woodlands all over the world. Even trees

coveted for their wood that are protected from logging are chopped down.

Worried about such deforestation, environmental advocates are driving a project to create a DNA database of populations of the bigleaf maple tree on the West Coast. The eventual goal is to use DNA mapping to combat the thriving black markets for timber in tropical countries that are plagued by illegal logging.